In
Naga City, we fondly called DILG Secretary and former city mayor
Jesse Robredo “Pogi.” We wonder how this came to be since he
was never your pa-pogi politico. His un-pa-pogi ways are
well-documented. You must have heard stories about the good Secretary
disdaining tarpaulins welcoming him whenever he would grace an
occasion or visit a locality, or the fact that he issued an order
prohibiting local officials from putting their names, initials and
images on government projects. Pogi frowned upon political
pa-pogi-ism. Call it epal,
if you will. He espoused working under the radar, work without
fanfare.
Pogi
had kept himself, his effectiveness, his competence, his achievements
low-key. He was never front-page fodder. He never trumpeted the
numerous reforms he initiated at the Department of Interior and Local
Government. It is interesting to note that before his ill-fated
flight, Pogi never had media exposure this long and this
comprehensive. As a matter of fact, in the last survey conducted by
Pulse Asia which was sometime in March, 2011, Pogi only had a 38
percent approval rating, a far cry from media-darling Justice
Secretary Leila de Lima, who led all cabinet officials with 61
percent.
With
Pogi’s quiet public service and his tenacious stance not to indulge
in the ways of pa-pogi politics, he was virtually shooting his
national political career on the foot. The hype-influenced,
machinery-driven popularity contest called Philippine Elections would
have eaten the competent, effective, honest and sincere but
low-profile Robredo alive. Not that this is Pogi’s fault, but this
is because the established norm is not friendly to the likes of Pogi.
And this in the most-awfully painful sense, bites.
Had
he lived, he would never have become President, nor a Senator, not
even Congressman. Not with the voting public’s distorted opinion of
political characters as painted by media and PR persons, as well as a
penchant to sway to the side of candidates or would-be candidates who
enjoy front-runner status.
Pogi
had none of these essential elements for a successful foray into
national elective office—machinery, popularity and timing. But what
he had was the drive to perform while shunning the spotlight. What he
had was an ideal that public service was the first and foremost duty,
the pa-pogi is never a part of it. What he had was the vision of the
finished product—efficient, effective and transparent local
governments which the people can and do trust. For him, the finished
product will do the talking.
Sad
to think that only after his death that the nation, as a whole,
realized what a sincere and competent public servant Pogi was, and what a
good national leader he could have been. Yeah, the
what-could-have-been.
The
life and death of Pogi essentially teaches us to dig deep into the
pogi-ness of a politico. Some pogi-looking could be mere superficial
creations of media, good PR guys and fancy tarpaulins in government
projects. While those un-pogi-looking may actually be pogi deep
inside, they just don't choose to indulge in pa-pogi ways. The public
must learn the art of scrutiny-- to be like the suplada hot chick who
does not fall for the mere flowers, chocolates, fancy cars and kilig
texts of suitors but gets to know them first, does the research and
looks inside their hearts. The public needs to be hard-to-get this
time.
The
2013 Elections are coming. This is our time, our test.
